Amish Raisin Cookies

Moist, sweet, chewy, raisin-y goodness.  Oh my, these cookies were down a storm here. Even Ole Sweetie-Pi couldn't stay out of the cookie jar for these.  The cooked batter tastes like a chocolate chip cookie (due to all the brown sugar and butter, I suppose, smiles), and at first glimpse one could mistaken this cookie for a chocolate chip cookie, but the raisins bring a sweetness and a texture all their own.  Made with pantry staples, this is a recipe I will make often.

Amish Raisin Cookies
(found here:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amish-raisin-cookies/Detail.aspx)

1 cup raisins
1 cup water

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

In a medium sized pan, combine the water and the raisins.  Bring to a boil and cook until the water is reduced to one-half cup.  Remove from heat and set pan aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Sift together remaining dry ingredients and add to butter mixture and gradually add to creamed ingredients, blending well.  Add the raisins with the liquid and stir to combine.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart.  Bake at 375*F for 10-12 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown.  Let rest on pan a couple of minutes before moving to wire racks to finish cooling.

MY NOTES:  For the first time ever, I used a baker's mat, and I found the cooking time was shortened to more like 8 or 9 minutes.  The cookie is pretty soft when it first comes out of the oven.

My raisins cooled only for the time it took to put the batter together.  I stirred them a couple of times in between putting the batter together, but otherwise the raisin-water mixture was still warm when I added it to the cookie dough.  If you're a purist, you could put the warm pan in a dish of cold water to cool it down completely or put it in the fridge.